社会学是对社会行为和人类群体的系统研究。作为一门学科，它侧重于社会关系对人们的态度和行为的影响，并着眼于确定行为的反复发生模式和社会变革的社会力量。虽然社会学的范围很广，可能需要研究家庭，帮派，商业公司，政党或学校等社会团体，但它也涉及诸如贫困，歧视和疏远等社会问题。
Sociology is the systematic study of social behavior and human groups. As a discipline, it focuses on the influence of social relationships on people's attitudes and behavior and on identifying recurring patterns of behavior and the social forces for change in society. While the scope of sociology is broad and may entail the study of social groupings such as families, gangs, business firms, political parties, or schools, it is also concerned with social issues such as poverty, discrimination, and alienation.